It's been delayed while the owner and the Long Beach Unified School District settle on a price. Mark DiPiazza has pulled out completely from that place which is why it is no longer called The Lava Lounge. The owner changed it to The Java Lounge and hoped no one noticed. the place has been stripped of all aspects of tiki inside now. When we partied there the lava formation was already gone, but now the masks are gone and the tiki that welcomes you when you walk in is gone. Last Tuesday the Long Beach City Counsciil had a vote on when Java Lanes would lose their liscence because their haggling over money is disrupting other entertainment venues in Signal Hill, but the fact that the broker handling the sale of Java Lanes is also a councilman keeps the place open for now.

That used to be a truly great place, great architecture and a cool place to see bands play, but the owner has really soured everyone in Long Beach on it. I'm setting up an Exotica show in July and checked in with Scott the new promoter at Java Lanes for a date in July, but he couldn't even tell me wether or not that place would still be there by July, and thats only two months away. Basically, as soon as they lose their liscence they'll tear the place down, but until then they'll try to keep it open as long as they can until the sale goes through to keep squeezing cash out of it. One thing I'm bummed about is that Mark DiPiazza had promised me the Tiki at the front door but when Scott came in he took it home with him and kept it for himself. : (